


Just a Dream

by 1DE3shipper



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares, The X Factor Era, the other boys are barely there
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 19:03:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4149345
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1DE3shipper/pseuds/1DE3shipper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the prompt "Louis has a nightmare and Liam comforts him. (obviously x-factor era)"</p>
            </blockquote>





	Just a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> Sooooo it has been a very long time since I've posted anything...again...sorry about that :} I am working on longer stuff at the moment so sometime in the hopefully near future I will have something! for now, here is a one-shot prompted by KingLiloLuv...I hope this is what you wanted!
> 
> unedited, unbetad, all mistakes are mine, I do not own any of the characters, etc

Louis wakes up in a cold sweat, panting with a death-grip on the sheets. _justadream justadream justadream_ he repeats to himself, sitting up slowly and swinging his legs off of his top bunk, careful not to jostle Harry's bed below his.

He tiptoes down the hall and carefully flicks the light on in the bathroom, shutting the door behind himself. He looks at himself in the mirror: long hair stuck to his forehead with sweat, cheeks flushed, blue eyes wide with fear. _I’m a mess_ he thinks to himself with a pitiful shake of his head, rubbing his eyes in frustration. 

" _Just a dream_ " Louis whispers to himself. It's a dream he's been having off and on for the month they've been living in the X-factor house, where he's forced to sing a solo in their performance and every time he gets up to sing he freezes or forgets the words or sings out of key or something else equally catastrophic. The worst part is the guilt of letting the boys down and waking up wondering if today will be the day where they finally realize how much of a disappointment he is. He shutters just thinking about it and tugs at the hair falling messily over his forehead in an effort to banish those sorts of thoughts from his consciousness.

After splashing his face with cold water and assuring that his heart isn't trying to beat its way out of his chest, Louis creeps back past the two doors—quietly, because other contestants are sleeping in there too and lord knows the last thing he wanted was a midnight meeting with one of the girls—before the room he shares with the other lads. He hopes they're all still asleep; he's really not in the mood for a potentially serious conversation at–he checks the alarm clock next to Liam's bed–three thirty in the bloody morning.  
With a sigh, Louis hoists himself back into his own bunk, again mindful of the curly haired boy sleeping peacefully on the bed below his. He settles back in under his usual mess of blankets and pillows (and whatever else managed to find its way into his bed—Louis really has no clue anymore) and thinks he's home free yet again when he hears a shuffling from across the room.

He stills, holds his breath and tries to fake being asleep until whoever it is decides there's nothing to see, but unfortunately luck isn't on his side today.

"That you Louis?" Liam whispers from where he's sat up in his bed. Louis winces, hesitates while contemplating if he should even answer. He could just stay silent and maybe no one would be the wiser. But Liam would know anyways, because somehow Liam always knows and it drives Louis mad. Stupid, bloody Liam Payne and his stupid responsibleness, making Louis feel like he deserves an answer at three-bloody-thirty in the morning.

"Yeah," he croaks, still staring at the wall next to him. "Just went to get a drink. Go back to sleep Payno." Just because he deserves an answer, doesn’t mean he deserves the truth.  
"You sure you're alright?" Louis turns around in his bed so he's face to face with his younger bandmate, can see the worry in his brow, which, alright, why would Liam want to be worried about _him_? They tolerated each other at best and were at each other's throat more often than not; the fact that Louis would do the same for him is completely beside the point.

"I’m _fine_ , Liam," Louis huffs, trying to sound like whatever he had gotten up for wasn't a big deal (Liam didn't have to know that it was)and that he was annoyed by the attention (Liam didn’t have to know that he secretly craved it). "Go back to sleep."

Liam levels him with a contemplating look, as if he's deciding whether to believe Louis or not or, rather, whether or not to push the issue because even Louis can admit he’s not giving his best performance, middle of the night and all. He ultimately must decide whatever he seems to see just isn't worth the fight at arse-o'clock in the morning and lays back down with a mumbled _goodnight, Louis_ that gives Louis the distinct impression that this is far from over.

-

_The lights blind him as he forces himself to hold the mic near his face. He's blinded, can't see the audience, but that may not be a good thing. He still knows they're there, can still feel them judging him._

_He knows what he's doing, he_ does _; he's more than prepared, he's practiced, kept himself hydrated, talked himself through any possible scenario but when he goes to sing, the words get stuck in his throat and he can't make a sound._

_He can practically feel the glares of the other boys as well as the judges as Liam, perfect Liam, picks his part up, flawless as always. It's always Liam._

_He's so dizzy, he can barely keep himself standing and the mic is just a weight in his hand, reminding him of what he_ should _be doing. He's going to be sick, he_ is _, but the music keeps blaring around him, his bandmates carrying on perfectly as though nothing happened and he can't move._

_The music has stopped now and everyone attention is completely turned to him. Humiliation is all he can feel under the disappointed gaze of his bandmates, the disgust apparent on the faces of the judges._

_"You had one chance, Louis," Simon shakes his head in disapproval. "And you failed. I honestly don't know why I put you in the band to begin with if you can't even sing the simplest parts like that."_

_The other judges nod in agreement, the audience boos him loudly, and even the other lads, his_ brothers _, shake their heads sadly in discontentment. Never in his life has he wanted so badly to disappear into the ground._

_Pure humiliation._

_He's being roughly pulled offstage by Harry in the next moment, which is probably a good thing, given that he had lost all control of his body the second he tried to sing. He can’t ignore the obvious anger in the action, though, anger from sweet, charming Harry who couldn’t hurt anyone if he wanted to, who was dragging him by the collar in a way that was definitely meant to hurt._

_"What the fuck was that?" Liam growls when the five are alone backstage. He feels himself shrink away from the taller boy’s glare._

_"I'm...I'm sorry," he tries to apologize. He takes a step backwards but Liam follows the movement._

_"Sorry, sorry," Liam mimics cruelly. "You're always sorry, aren't you? Doesn't make a difference though. You keep holding us back. We're better without you!"_

_"N-no! P-please," he protests as his four bandmates circle in on him, getting right in his face._

_"We don't need you here," Niall sneers, face twisted with a hatred so foreign on the happy-go-lucky blonde._

_"It's time to be serious about this, Louis," Zayn agrees forecfully. "And you clearly can't do that."_

_He shakes his head in denial. "No...n-no," he repeats._

_"You're out of the band Louis," Liam commands and his entire world blurs away._

_"No! No no no..."_

"Louis?" 

Louis awakes with a start, breath coming in heavy pants and it takes him a minute to gather his surroundings. He's lying in his bed at the X-factor house and he's not alone.  
"Louis, are you alright?" Liam looks concerned, just as he had the previous week, the last time Louis had had the dream. He looks uncomfortable, Louis notices, unused to such free physical interaction among mates, kneeling awkwardly at the far end, a hand tentatively rested on Louis's knee where he must have shaken him awake. Louis feels a twinge or gratefulness for the younger boy, stepping outside of his comfort zone to help a friend, if you could call the two of them that. 

Because it was only a dream.

They aren't kicking him out of the band, he doesn't have to sing a solo, nobody hates him, everything's fine. Louis wipes his hands across his face, blinking rapidly to clear his eyes and his head.

"Fine, Leeymo," Louis sighs. "Bad dream I guess." He shrugs with a smirk, as if to asks _what can you do?_ Part of Louis just wants Liam to leave him alone, to let him wallow in his misery, but a smaller, more insecure part of him really wants the boy to ask, to make it better. He really tries not to listen to that part. 

"Has this happened a lot?" Liam asks and Louis totally isn't in the mood for this right now (he’s not, he swears, not one bit); it's the middle of the night and Liam looks so damn sincere, like he actually cares whether or not Louis has been having nightmares. It makes him a bit uneasy if he's honest, so he tries to deflect like he always does.

"Off and on," Louis dismisses with a wave of his hand. "Really nothing to make a fuss of. Thanks for your concern, but you can go back to bed now. Your assistance is no longer needed." He tries to smile but it definitely feels like more of a grimace to him and he can only imagine what it looks like.

Liam seems to debate with himself for a moment, closing his eyes in thought, before taking a deep breath and laying down in the bed next to Louis, who is caught by extreme surprise at Liam's rare display of physical comfort.

"If something's wrong, you should tell someone," he says seriously. "Doesn't have to be me if you're not, like, comfortable with me, which I totally understand, but it's not good to keep it all bottled in like you are."

"No, I guess...I guess I'm just, like, worried?" Louis tries, and Liam nods at him to continue. "Like, I know I'm not as good as you all are and..."

"Hold on just a minute there," Liam interrupts, eyes wide. "Who the fuck ever said you aren't as good as us?" Louis giggles at the curse and Liam rolls his eyes as if he knows why the older boy is laughing. "I'm serious, Louis," he continues, brown eyes locked on Louis's blue ones. "I don't know where this is coming from but you couldn't be more wrong."

"Are you even listening to yourself right now, Liam?" Louis asks, looking towards the ceiling as he balls his hands into frustrated fists. "Like, for real? Anyone with functioning ears can tell how much more talented you guys are compared to me. I don't even know why I'm here sometimes."

Liam can’t be one to talk in this situation. He has no idea what it’s like to be the worst at something you love. He’s got the voice of an angel, the looks of a popstar, and the likability of the typical boy-next-door and it’s just not _fair_ how incredible he is. It’s a legitimate concern for Louis, having to do anything he can to make himself known in a dynamic group such as theirs, something he doesn’t feel like he succeeds at. Liam, on the other hand has no such concerns.

"You need to stop that," Liam instructed seriously, switching to his Daddy Direction voice that usually made Louis itch to defy him but right now had him submitting almost unconditionally. "Like, now. We've all been over this, none of us can do it alone and we can't do it without any one of us because we all bring something different. That's what makes us so good, Louis. We don't have the same strengths and we fill in each other's weaknesses." He takes a deep breath before cupping Louis's chin to force the older boy to look at him. "People love you, Louis. You're just an incredible person the way you can draw people in; we'd be so boring without you. God knows I don’t have the confidence to do that. We need you."

Louis nods dumbly, wiping at his cheeks when he notices the wetness there. "You mean it?" he croaks wetly, internally cursing himself for the childish tears.

"Course I mean it, Lou," Liam smiles affectionately. "Louis's the leader, remember? What would we do without a leader?"

Louis finds his arms enveloping Liam in a tight hug that makes the other boy tense up for a moment before relaxing and reciprocating the action.

"Thank you," Louis whispers.

"Mhm," Liam mumbles his reply into Louis's hair. "Better?"

"Hmm," Louis pretends to think. "You should probably stay here tonight to make sure." He gives a cheeky grin that Liam rolls his eyes at but in a way that Louis is able to identify as fond. The way his eyes press up into little crescents the way they do when Zayn makes him laugh gives it away too and Louis feels his heart stutter in his chest.

"Alright, deal," Liam agrees, shuffling in closer so that his chin is tucked over Louis's head and Louis's face is pressed into his neck. Louis feels so warm like this, feels completely protected and he's hit with just how much bigger and stronger Liam is. Like he really could keep Louis safe. "Promise to wake me if you have any more nightmares?"

"Yeah, promise," Louis mumbles sleepily, nuzzling at the skin right where Liam's birthmark is, smiling softly when the younger boy shutters. "Night, Li."

"Night Louis," Liam whispers softly, raking his fingers through the hairs on the back of Louis's neck and it barely takes any time for the sensation to lull the older boy to sleep.

Louis doesn't have the nightmare again and if he finds himself crawling into Liam’s bed every night for the rest of the show _just to make sure_ , no one but them has to know.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think! I'm always open to constructive criticism! 
> 
> you can find me on tumblr at http://1de3shipper.tumblr.com/ where you can leave me prompts or just come and say hi :)
> 
> *also if anyone knows how to create a working link (ex, to my tumblr) in the notes on here please let me knowwww*


End file.
